Bang Chan Sub-district is located in Klung District, Chanthaburi Province in Eastern Thailand. The word klung is used to refer to frequently flooded low-lying areas, which already gives you some clues to the nature of Bang Chan Sub-district.

Photo: Dararat WEERAPONG

Many of the communities in Bang Chan Sub-district were formed around 200 years ago when Chinese settlers began to use the area as a base for their fishery livelihoods. The sub-district comprises over 40,000 rai (approximately 6,400 hectares) of flat, coastal land and some 1,300 households or approximately 3,700 individuals live there. The vast majority of the people living in the sub-district are involved in some form of coastal fishery, including both capture fishery and aquaculture activities.